SOME years back, when my friends and I were starting families, talk would inevitably go to family finances. How much is your monthly electricity bill? How much do you spend on groceries every month? Where can you buy the best bargains? How are you saving up for your children's tuition? These were just some of the questions we would ask each other, and because we were friends, we had no qualms about basically revealing how much we were spending on everything.
Those talks helped because we would each give tips on how to save precious pesos and where to put our money so it would grow.
For instance, one friend said instead of buying a preneed education plan (premiums were high since her children were already in grade school), she would just put money monthly equal to a preneed plan premium payment in a high-yielding time deposit. It's basically a do-it-yourself way of saving up for tuition.
Another friend said my electricity bill was high, and when we compared our usage, we realized the electric stove and airpot (which was turned on the whole day) were the culprits.
Still another friend said that while you can buy school uniforms and school supplies at low prices in Divisoria, you'd be better off buying at a department store in the mall nearby to save on time, parking, and gas or taxi fare.
Nowadays people have more access to personal finance information from experts via the Internet, newspapers, magazines, books, and seminars, which is good because we all need helpful tips on how to manage our finances, especially since these impact our families. Read money blogs, not just this one, and pick advice that would best suit your needs. Financial literacy is one of those things that would benefit us until we grow old. (Karen Galarpe)
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Win a free seat to the Family Finance 101 seminar!
Want to learn how to secure your family's financial future? Money Sense magazine is presenting its latest Money Sense Live seminar on July 11, and this time it will be on Family Finance 101, with a panel of experts including Money Smarts pioneer blogger and Money Sense columnist Salve Duplito.
To register for the seminar and find out payment details, go to http://iluvlearning.com.
To win a free seat, be one of the first five people to post their own family finance tip here AND signify their intention to attend the seminar. In the comment section below, just say: “I want to win! Here's my family finance tip ...” The seminar organizer will then contact you as to how to go about claiming your free ticket.
The Family Finance 101 seminar will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2009, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the AIM Conference Center in Makati City.
I want to win!!! Saving money is also equal to saving time. We used to go to the grocery weekly because I want to alternate supermarkets (some items are cheaper in alternative malls) but found that going weekly drains gas money. Plus, it also equates to eating out or unplanned purchases. Now, we just go once a month and stick to one supermarket and build up the loyalty card. This offsets the items I can buy cheaper from other supermarkets.
I want to win! Here’s my family finance tip: Recently, my husband and I reviewed our appliances in the house. I discovered that there were some items which (even if they were still working well), were consuming a lot of electricity [e.g. auto-defrost refrigerator, our old airconditioner, etc.] We discarded some of these items to buy new ones, and voila! I'm now saving at least P1,000 in my electricity bills! Same goes with doing the groceries. When I need just a few items, I just walk to and from the supermarket. Realy saves up on gas. And it's a great way to exercise as well :)
I want to win! maids usually don’t know how to save or do not care. as household manager, we need to train them to save in evey aspect, including “minor” things like bath soap, and lpg. for bath soap,the small leftover soap can be placed in a small net-like bag that can be used for hand-washing. i found that glass cookware, tho expensive, can actually save more on fuel in the long run. this type of cookware heats up easily, and stores heat, so when the food being cooked is already simmering, you can put the flame to low yet still keep the high temp. best for nilaga. (i don’t like the taste of meats cooked in pressure cooker). hope this helps
I want to win for a friend! Here's my family finance tip: Send your kids to school with packed lunch! Not only will you be able to save a lot of money, you can be assured that your kids are eating healthy.
I want to win!!! Family tip: Live below your means.
I want to win! Here’s my family finance tip... First, list down your family's goal/dream. Next, evaluate your current financial condition e.g. revenues expenses, assets and liabililities. Then, identify those expenses which you can minimize or do without. You may also find other sources of income like selling stuff you don't need anymore but still in working condition. Create a budget and stick to it. Review your actual expenses vs the budget at least monthly.
I want to win! Here’s my family finance tip …instead of eating out and watching movies at the mall, my wife and I prefer to spend our weekends in strolling in the park and enjoying the sights and sounds that nature has to offer. We just bring our own picnic basket filled with home-cooked meals. Simple pleasures such as these are priceless!
I want to win! Here's what we're doing. We list down all our expenses in excel sheet with a graph automatically adjusting. Each month, we analyze our biggest expenses and plan to minimize them. And also remove some unnecessary ones. And by looking at the graph everyday, we can see what's the biggest of them all and if we're reaching our monthly budget. From that, we can take action immediately.
managing family finances does deals on cooperative effort of every member of the family. in making a budget it is important to call the family in a conference for a participatory promolgation, construction of the budget. in this manner everybody will understand why certain matters, items should be avoided. in these tactics the head of the family will have a less headache and can call every member for help yo the success of the budget.
I want to win!
do not buy on impulse.
First of all we practice tithing and "pay yourself first" or saving. Then we make sure all needs are covered by our monthly income. Anything left over, (yes, it sometimes happen) are added to savings instead of spending on a "want". All "wants" are to be sourced from investment income, never from monthly income. This limits spur of the moment purchases and focuses us on making tong-term planning for major "wants".
Thanks for sharing your family finance tips! We can learn so much from each other. :)
Maia, Rencie, Maggie, Money Magnets and Frosh -- you were the first 5 to post. Please expect an e-mail informing you of your free seat at the Family Finance Seminar. Thanks!
I want to win. Here's my family finance tip. I am a single parent whose child support has yet to be finalized in court. Every first amount I already alot a fixed bulk amount for the family's monthly expenses. I also list down each and every purchase and automatically deduct it from this bulk amount. Every 15th i also deduct a certain portion from this for savings so I have to do with what is left for our living expenses.
By every first amount I mean every first of the month. Sorry
Maraming magandang tips sa thread na ito.. but i think ang best combination is...
1. Use excel sheet with Graphs
2. Pay yourself first
3. DONT BUY Cash-value Insurance, BUT TERM
4. Replaced old applicances with new energy efficient one
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Savings really help a lot, we need to cut down on our expenses to make sure that we're financially secured for our future. We should also teach our kids on how they should be saving their allowances so that would make them financially responsible because in the last 2-3 years, those who were saving for years did fine but those who earned twice or thrice than those who used to save regularly...struggled badly in this time because they had no money savings.
So we need to keep looking for ways to save as much as we can and create a perfect balance between spending and saving.
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Shopping online has developed into a multi-billion pound industry. Most stores have websites these days, often with Internet special deals to make them more appealing. Moreover, since the Internet is global, you can buy from so many places in the world it’s hard to imagine not being able to find what you want somewhere – and stores have learned to adapt by selling and shipping around the world.
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al finance information from experts via the Internet, newspapers, magazines, books, and seminars, which is good because we all need helpful tips on how to manage our finances bag manufacturer
Still another friend said that while you can buy school uniforms and school supplies at low prices in Divisoria, you'd be better off buying at a department store in the mall nearby to save on time, parking, and gas or taxi fare.
Best regards, Alex, CEO of youtube downloader
Well, you can find out about most of these things (beside children) if you decide to move with your boyfriend or girlfriend. It's basically the same, if you both have a job and you want to be off your parents' back. I do so and I can even save some money since I've applied for a blair rewards membership.
It is so hard to deal with family fiances are so hard these days due to the bad economy. So many families have to make a lot of changes with it. accutane lawyers
Thanks for sharing your family finance tips! We can learn so much from each other.
Best regards, Katya, CEO of multiple cd burner, iscsi or fibre channel
Money may not be able to buy happiness, but managing Ginault Watches correctly can certainly make married life less stressful. Too many marriages die an early death at the hand of financial mismanagement and others stay together but live in misery. What makes this even more difficult to stomach is that applying the basic principles I'll discuss in this article can prevent this tremendous strain on marriage relationships.
When you want to save some money around the house you should see on what are going your money and then see if you really need all those things or find ways to pay less for your utilities .Online Forex Broker
The husband in my opinion is responsible for the family finances when it comes to investing. He should always be up to date with the latest in financial news. A smart husband will not need the term spread betting explained to him as he should already be familiar with this business opportunity. Managing family finances on the long run might be a tedious task but the better you do it, the better the rewards.
There are lots of way to save money and I think that the most important step in doing that is actually organizing things... People lack the "being organized" approach and that is why they end up spending more they can afford... I have a finance blog, if you want you can visit it: Aaron DelSignore. Have a nice day!!!
Without friends what's the meaning of life? I too remember the days when we would met after work and we would talk about the money spent on diapers for children, easy saver rewards credit cards and many others. We still talk about them today, but on the telephone, YM. I understand now that sharing your problems with someone close is equally important.
Without friends what's the meaning of life? I too remember the days when we would met after work and we would talk about the money spent on diapers for children, easy saver rewards credit cards and many others. I still talk about them today, but on the telephone, YM. I understand now that sharing your problems with someone close is equally important.